Kashiwa, Chiba Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Kashiwa

柏市

Core city

Looking east from Kashiwa Station

Flag

Seal

Location of Kashiwa in Chiba

Area

• Total

43.19 km² (16.68 sq mi)

Population

(February 2011)

• Total

404,820

• Density

3,520/km² (9,100/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)

-Tree

Daimyo Oak, Castanopsis

- Flower

Phlox subulata; Erythronium japonicum; Sunflower

- Bird

Azure-winged Magpie

Phone number

04-7167-1111

Address

5-10-1 Kashiwa, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba-ken 270-8505

Website

City of Kashiwa

Kashiwa is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 404,820 and a population density of 3520 persons per km². The total area was 114.90 km². The name Kashiwa is said to originate from "kashiba" wharf in old Japanese. . Kashiwa is home to a professional football team, Kashiwa Reysol.

Geography
History
Economy
Education
Images for kids
See also

Geography

Neighboring municipalities:

Matsudo, Chiba
Abiko, Chiba
Kamagaya, Chiba
Noda, Chiba
Nagareyama, Chiba
Toride, Ibaraki
Moriya, Ibaraki

History

Kashiwa dance

The area around Kashiwa was the site of the Battle of Sakainehara during the Sengoku period. During the Edo period, the area was tenryo controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, and contained a number of horse ranches providing war horses for the Shogun’s armies. It also developed as a post station on the Mito Kaido connecting Edo with Mito.

Radiation hotspot in Kashiwa

After the Meiji Restoration, Kashiwa Village was created in Chiba Prefecture on October 1, 1889, and connected to Tokyo by train in 1896. Kashiwa became a town on September 15, 1926. In the late 1930s, the Imperial Japanese Army established Kashiwa Air Field and Kashiwa Military Hospital. The air field was abandoned after the end of World War II, but the hospital continues to exist as the Kashiwa Public Hospital.

Kashiwa Police Station

On December 25, 1955 a fire of unknown original destroyed the former Kashiwa City Hall, and burned down most of the center of the city. In the 1960s, Kashiwa was designated for reconstruction with a special fund from the central government, which included Japan’s first pedestrian decks, completed at Kashiwa Station in 1973. On April 1, 2008, Kashiwa was designated a core city. In August 2010, the city population exceeded 400,000 people.

Economy

Kashiwa is a regional commercial center and a bedroom community for nearby Chiba and Tokyo. The city has a mixed industrial base, with food processing industries forming an important portion of the economy. Nikka Whisky Distilling, Asahi Soft Drinks, and Ito Ham all have production facilities in Kashiwa. There is some residual agriculture of turnips, onions and spinach.